Real estate advertising rules in Texas for agents

In Texas, real estate advertising is regulated by the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC). Its rules define an advertisement as any communication by or on behalf of a license holder that’s designed to attract the public to use real estate brokerage services. The definition names email, text messages, social media, the internet and business cards, so your website, profiles, email signature and digital business card all count.

This page sets out what TREC’s rules say, with links. It’s one of our state guides, alongside California, Florida and New York.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, and your sponsoring broker may have its own requirements. Check with your broker or TREC before you publish.

What every ad must show

Section 535.155 of TREC’s rules says each advertisement must include, in a readily noticeable location:

• the name of the license holder or team placing the advertisement, and
• the broker’s name, in at least half the size of the largest contact information for any sales agent, associated broker or team name in the ad.

“Contact information” covers a name, phone number, email address, website address, social media handle, scan code or similar information. So if your name is the largest thing in your website header, your broker’s name needs to be at least half that size.

The “broker’s name” can be the name on the broker’s license, a registered alternate name for an individual broker, or a registered assumed business name of the broker. A communication to your current client isn’t an advertisement under the rule.

Social media and texts. For an ad on social media or by text, the required information can sit on a separate page or on your account profile page. That page must be readily accessible by a direct link from the post or text, and the information must be readily noticeable on it.

The two links your website needs

TREC requires two links on the homepage of each business website. Under both rules, that’s a website that’s accessible to the public, contains information about a license holder’s brokerage services, and has content the license holder controls. Your own agent website fits.

Both links go in a readily noticeable place on the homepage. The IABS link must point to a completed IABS Notice. You may prefill the Broker Contact Information section, but the rest must be copied verbatim, with the spacing, borders and placement of text matching TREC’s version.

On a social media platform, both rules say the link may be on the account holder profile, or on a separate page or website reached through a direct link from the platform or profile. TREC’s tips for posting the notices also accept an image of the completed form, labeled with the same wording.

Email: the IABS doesn’t go in your signature

Section 531.20 also requires you to give the completed IABS Notice at the first substantive communication, as section 1101.558 of the Texas Occupations Code requires. By email, you can put it in the body, or attach it or link to it with a specific reference to the IABS Notice in the body.

The rule says the link may not be in a footnote or signature block in an email. So a link in your signature doesn’t count as giving it. Mention it in the body of the message instead.

Your signature is still advertising, so it should carry your name and your broker’s name at the right size. Our guide to email signatures for US agents covers layout.

Team names and other names

Section 535.154 covers three kinds of name.

• Team names. A team name must end with the word “team” or “group”. It may not include terms that could mislead the public into thinking the team offers brokerage services independently of its sponsoring broker. Section 535.155 gives “brokerage”, “company” and “associates” as examples. Your broker must register the team name with TREC before you use it in an ad, and tell TREC within 10 days after you stop using it.
• Alternate names. If you advertise under a name other than the one on your license, such as a middle name, maiden name or nickname, you must register it with TREC first. Common derivatives, such as Kim for Kimberly or Bill for William, count as the same name.
• Assumed business names. These belong to the broker, who registers them with TREC, with evidence of legal authority to use the name in Texas, before anyone uses them in an ad.

What TREC treats as misleading

Section 535.155 lists advertising that misleads or is likely to deceive. For an agent’s own marketing, these are the items most likely to come up. An ad mustn’t:

• identify a sales agent as a broker;
• use a title such as owner, president or CEO, or an email or website address, that implies a sales agent is responsible for running a brokerage;
• use a name other than the one on your license or a registered alternate name;
• include the name or likeness of an unlicensed person, such as an assistant, without clearly disclosing that they don’t hold a license;
• rank you or another service provider, unless the ranking is based on objective criteria disclosed in the ad;
• keep advertising a listing more than 10 days after the listing agreement ends, or advertise a property 10 days or more after closing without its current status.

The website address point includes your domain. One built on your own name, rather than one that sounds like a brokerage, is less likely to raise the question. See our page on domains.

Where each item goes

A Real Agent Marketing website shows your brokerage’s name and your license details. The size of your broker’s name and the two TREC links are still worth checking with your broker before you publish.

NAR members

If you’re a member of the National Association of REALTORS®, the Code of Ethics applies too. Article 12 requires members to be honest and truthful in their real estate communications and to present a true picture in their advertising. Standard of Practice 12-5 requires the firm’s name in advertising in a reasonable and readily apparent manner, and Standard of Practice 12-9 requires members’ websites to show the firm’s name and the member’s state or states of licensure.

Checklist

• Your name as licensed, or an alternate name registered with TREC.
• Your broker’s name, at least half the size of your largest contact information.
• A team name ending in “team” or “group”, registered by your broker, without words such as “brokerage”, “company” or “associates”.
• IABS and Consumer Protection Notice links on your homepage, labeled exactly as the rules say.
• The same links on your social profiles, or a page they link to directly.
• The IABS in the body of an email at the first substantive communication, not in your signature.
• No titles, email addresses or domains that suggest you run the brokerage.
• Listing and sold pages updated within 10 days of a listing ending or a closing.

For the wider legal picture, see our guide to fair housing in agent marketing.

Sources

• Texas Real Estate Commission, TREC Rules as published on TREC’s website: sections 531.18 (Consumer Information), 531.20 (Information About Brokerage Services), 535.154 (alternate, team and assumed business names) and 535.155 (Advertisements).
• Texas Real Estate Commission, Tips for Posting the IABS and Consumer Protection Notice: the ideal and acceptable ways to post both notices.
• National Association of REALTORS®, 2026 Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice: Article 12 and Standards of Practice 12-5 and 12-9.

Based on the rules and guidance as we read them in November 2026. This is general information, not legal advice, and doesn’t cover every rule that applies to you.